I've been trying to think of more fun stories (I love telling stories), and Suzanne reminded me of this one.

This happened sometime when I was 12 or 13. Old enough to know better, but young enough to think this would be a good idea. I had just seen in science class or something, a demonstration where if you swing something around fast enough the contents won't come out. I had seen someone do it with a bucket of water and was vastly impressed. Not one drop of water fell out of the bucket. In my middle-school mind, this was like real magic being done before my eyes. I think the only way I could have been more impressed is if Brad Pitt had done it. Even then it would be hard to top. So, with this fresh revelation planted in my mind, it was pretty much just a matter of time before I tried it myself.

Fast forward a couple days to my parents and I having dinner together. Picture our kitchen, a doorway leading out of the kitchen, and then the dining room table just on the other side, with my parents seated. I got up and went to get some crackers, because I think we were having soup. I got the Wheat Thins, because I love them, and started to walk out of the kitchen. Unbeknownst to my parents, who were happily chatting away with each other, I figured this would be a good time to make some magic happen. I would be able to test the laws of physics all by myself, and I was sure my parents would be just as impressed as I was. So I made sure I was holding onto the open end of the box (because I wanted to be safe and not make a mess, especially with something this valuable), crouched down 'cause I was really gonna swing this thing, and let loose my propellor-like swing. The next few seconds happened in slow motion. I got to the top of my arc, really happy by this point because I was just imagining the feeling of accomplishment I would soon feel, and then...all of sudden the box got really light. Another quarter rotation and I realized that I was now holding an empty box. And then I realized, and saw out of the corner of my eye, that the Wheat Thins were spread across the ceiling. In mind, the little crackers had turned into a rain of death. I let out a yelp, partly out of fear for my own safety but also as a warning to my parents, covered my head, and crouched down. I felt them land all around me and all over my back. Once they stopped falling, which seemed to take a long time, I looked up and saw my parents staring at me with eyes and mouth wide open. We looked at each other, and then just fell out. I can't remember at this point just how far into the next room the crackers went, but it was enough for them to get the general idea of what I had just done.

Two things that stick out about this story, are one, that I vividly remember to this day, 15 years later, the feeling of swinging the box, the sudden release, and the rain of crackers that seemed to take forever in coming down. And second, that my parents just laughed with me. They weren't put out that I'd made a mess, or wasted a bunch of food. I thought that was really cool.

So a couple weeks ago I was thinking about how it'd be funny to come up with some jokes that take place in a Baha'i context. There's a bunch out there- 'Babi pins', 'spell this to get into heaven', etc-, but I haven't heard any of those cheesy pickup line ones. So for better or worse, I thought I'd make a contribution. If you have any jokes, in this vein or otherwise, I'd love to hear them. 2 are mine, the other is a gem from my brother (-in-law), Brent. And keep in mind, this is our first time doing this.

After seeing someone across a crowded marriage preparation session...

"Hi, (wink) my parents already gave me consent."

"Excuse me, didn't I see you at World Congress?"

(and my favorite, best read in your best Barry White impersonation) "I think it's time you left the valley of search and enter the valley of love".

I was totally going to post something tonight, but Suzanne and I got sucked into watching Alias, and now we can't stop. We have to see what happens next. We're watching Season 1, and we just finished the one where they open the suitcase in the middle of the field. Does anyone else watch this show?

Thinking about one of my first loves got me thinking about other stories...This one takes place in Connecticut, on a night just like this one (just without snow). I was visiting my nephew Ben, who's now an amazing pastry chef at the Emeril's in Miami. Word is he even impressed the big man himself. But this was before all that, sometime in the early 90s. The two of us were driving around with one of his friends and it was late at night. We decided to drive through a park that houses a crumbling insane asylum from another time (I know what you're thinking. That kittens will be involved somehow). That's about all it took for all 3 of us to get spooked. As we're driving through looking for anything out of the ordinary, we see 2 little shapes run across the road. They were pretty much a blur in the headlights. We stopped and got out to see what it was. If you're thinking, It's kittens!, you'd be right. It was 2 little kittens just hanging out there, not looking so good. We looked around for a mother but couldn't find one. Ben's friend decided to take them, as he knows animals and has a friend who might take them. So we bring them into the car and continue through the park. After about 30 minutes we stop by a lake and get out to talk. As we're talking we hear the doors in the car lock. We freeze and look at each other. I jokingly say to Ben, you didn't leave the keys in the car did you? With a half smiling/worried look he says, yeah. We look at each other to see if either of us believes this just happened. We go over to the car and see the keys in the ignition. One of the kittens was looking out the window and stepped on the door lock and managed to lock us all out. We try to get them to move over and push it back up. As crazy as it sounds it almost worked. But we finally decided we'd have to do something else. It'd been a while and no cars had gone by, but across the lake we could see a phone. By this time it was almost 1 in the morning, and it didn't seem likely any cars would be coming by. Just then a car came by. We flagged her down and explained the situation. She looked at us just like you would expect her to after hearing the story. She gave us the benefit of the doubt though and said she would take Ben to the phone. She really came through for us by taking him there, waiting for him to call the police, and then bringing him back. So we sat for another 20 minutes waiting for the police to come. He finally showed up and said something like, So, you got locked out for your car by some kittens? As he was doing this he was shining the light in our eyes, just to make sure we weren't tripping. We said that as funny as it sounds that's exactly what happened. He still didn't seem to believe us until he went over to the car and shined his light in. After he saw the kittens he kind of looked at us and said something like, I'll be damned, you got locked out of the car by some kittens. Yes! So he then proceeded to jimmy the car, told us to watch out for kittens, that they're trouble, that they'd almost ruined him, and wished us well. And as far as I know the kittens found a good home.

1) A fortune cookie I got the other day. I'd have to say it's my favorite so far. It says (you might want to sit down first), "You think that is a secret, but it never has been one". Think about that. Think about it.

2) Has anyone ever heard the comment, "I slept like a baby. I woke up every two hours, ate, then cried myself to sleep"? It's in my head for some reason and I can't remember where I heard it. But I think it was a mass communication source, like TV or something.

Well 3 things...but I'll write about that one later. It's about divine love and service to one's spouse.

It's been a good day so far. I got up, worked out with Suzanne, then went to campus. I had a meeting with my advisor. He was very understanding and helpful. It turns out I don't have to take any classes this semester so I can work on my thesis and try to get it done before our little package arrives in July. He also suggested considering doing an M.Ed. instead of a M.A. With an M.Ed. I wouldn't have to do a thesis, probly just take classes, and would be helpful if I wasn't planning on going on to a Ph.D. Part of me was like, Whoohoo...Yeehah! But I think I'll try to do a thesis. The only reason I wouldn't is if I don't do a doctorate, which still isn't out of the question for some future time. Plus this way I'll be able to research and write what I like. Otherwise I would have to take classes this semester and write for other people. I am going to sit in on 2 classes this semester though. One is about globalization and educational policy. I took a version of this class several years ago, but now it's more focused on specific educational policies and how globalization affects them. I think that would be invaluable to have that perspective/training. The other class is a Sociology course on globalization and culture. I really like the teacher already. He's a bit eccentric, and has travelled just about everywhere in the world.
I think my plan now is to finish my thesis soon, take some more classes in qualitative research methods and methodology in the Fall, and maybe teach 2 classes. I'd love to teach a class dealing with globalization, education, religion and morality. Sometime in all this I'll start applying for jobs as well.

I also had a realization about weather and my place on earth. It happened as Suzanne and I were walking to the workout place this morning. I was about to say something about the weather and just stopped mid sentence. All of a sudden something made sense. After South Dakota I'd pretty much stopped complaining about the cold. There it's more of just a fact of life. No one really thinks to complain about it. This morning, I realized that the weather and whatever happens on earth isn't all about me! These things are just the price one pays, in a sense, for being alive. The process of winter is something the earth needs to go through to regenerate. It's like complaining about growing, or having a blue sky. It was a pretty humbling notion that hit me all at once. That doesn't mean I like humidity and mosquitos though...

And something else that happened this morning. As we were leaving to go to campus I was a little late, but an older Indian woman was walking by. She asked if I could take a picture of her. Afterwards I asked her where she was from and she told me. I mentioned that I have several friends from Punjab, and then she said that's where she's from. She's here visiting her son for about a year. She then invited Suzanne and I to come over to her apartment any time, and that "of course we'll have Indian food". It was a really nice way to start the day. She was a really gentle, sweet person. As I was walking away I thought to myself that's just the kind of thing my Mom would have done.

Last night we went down to Shelbyville for a Local Spiritual Assembly retreat. Most of it took place today. It was a really great time to be with the members of the Assembly in a very different, relaxed atmosphere. We studied a couple documents about community growth and development, and I had the chance to give my presentation about religion in the US. I feel like our level of unity and the prospects for more efficient functioning and consultation (which has come a long way) increased greatly.

After we got back from that this evening I cleaned up around the house while Suzanne did a bunch of emails. We then used the LCD projector I got from my department to watch the movie Spellbound. It's a documentary about the National Spelling Bee competition. Sounds like it'd be like watching plastic being made, or watching someone turn up the volume on a TV, but it was really good. We got a big kick out of it. Especially one boy that looked like he was hooked up to some kind of electrical source that made him say the first thing that came to mind.

This all reminded me of the time in 4th grade when I was runner-up in my school spelling bee. I woulda been first but I mispelled 'manual' for some reason. Now that I think about it, it could have been that I had a crush on the girl that got first so it's possible I threw it. But, I did qualify to go onto the district spelling bee. I made 10th place or something, and managed to get farther than the girl from my school that I had a crush on. It's a bit hazy, but my love was already spoiled by then I think. I do remember how this happened. I was kicking the ball against the wall with my friend (we really knew how to party), and it hit the wall at a funny angle and rolled over to her. I ran over, thinking about how we had a special spelling bee connection. All of a sudden, to my surprise, she kicked the ball in the opposite direction. That was enough for me. As far as I can remember I'd never done this before or since, but I decided to give her a big push. So I did. She called me a jerk, and I still remember any feelings of affection I, or she, might have had blowing up like the deficit.

I'm offering this as something I've learned about and experienced over the past couple years, and hoping that others will share their experiences as well. The cases I'm thinking about here have mostly to do with people that don't know me that well, particularly people I meet in passing.
I think we were each given different qualities, whether physical or anything else, to help us see the world in a different way and help each other learn. I think it's kind of interesting that I grew up in a biethnic/bilingual household. In some ways I felt like I never really fit completely either in the Latino world, or the White American world. I saw/felt this most clearly when I worked maintenance in the park district of the town I grew up in. Most of the workers were Latino, and most of the management was White. A lot of times I was in between. I looked White, but I spoke Spanish. Several times I was literally in between worlds, as the Latinos would eat or gather together speaking Spanish on one side of the garage, and management would gather on the other side of the garage. Often I just stood in between, not wanting to have to commit myself. I often wondered which I was. If we base much of our identity on how others see us, I was confused. Whites would largely see me as White, sometimes even going so far as to question whether I could truly be Latino. Latinos, and people of color in general, were quick to identify and support that side of me. There were 2 examples of this just recently. Travelling through Miami, there were a couple instances when people would start speaking Spanish to me before saying anything in English. And just yesterday I met two Latinos in my department. I mentioned to one of them that my Father is White and my Mother from Chile. She called over to a friend and introduced me as a Chileno. There's a number of other examples from my life from both sides.
I wonder why this is. I guess one aspect is you identify and recognize what you grow up with. I never really thought of myself as 'looking Latino', until a couple years ago when I was working at a coffeeshop and a man ordered a latte, then asked me if I was from South America. Taken aback, I asked how he knew. He said that he recognized certain facial features, like my cheekbones. And I'm guessing that unless you're from the city or certain parts of the country, not many Whites grow up around large numbers of Latinos. Another thought that's related, is perhaps I don't share what many Whites see as the requirements of oppression. What I mean by that is that my skin isn't that dark, so they might assume that because of that I wouldn't be singled out for oppression by employers, police, store-owners, etc. I think a lot of people, both Whites and people of color, define ethnicity partially as experiencing oppression.
I've always thought it interesting that people see in me what they want to. That ethnicity and race aren't so clear cut as I sometimes think they are. I imagine that if I took my ethnicity more seriously as the basis for my identity I would be pretty mad whenever it was questioned.
Any thoughts?